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Locavore News — Ontario

Ontario Growers and Syngenta Canada Teaming up to Fight World Hunger in Record-Breaking Fashion

Next month, Ontario farmers will attempt to harvest 160 acres of soybeans in world record time – hoping to complete the task in under 10 minutes. The initiative is called Harvest for Hunger and it’s a fundraiser for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies working together to end global hunger. The field site is in Perth County, near Monkton, Ontario. Local farmer Randy Drenth is Harvest for Hunger Chair. “We are planning for more than 100 combines to roll across the field together on harvest day,” Drenth says. “Our goal is to raise $200,000 for global hunger relief projects, and increase awareness for the need to fight hunger through publicity surrounding the event. We hope to harvest and auction off 10,000 bushels of soybeans. To our knowledge, this type of harvest has never been attempted before with soybeans.” Syngenta news release.

Harvest For Hunger & BASF Team Up For a Record Soybean Harvest

BASF and Harvest for Hunger are raising soybeans for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to provide food for less fortunate people who are struggling with famine and hunger. For more information on how to support this effort visit http://harvest4hunger.wordpress.com. Video.

Exploring Oxford County Ontario’s Rural Heartland

If Ontario has a heartland, Oxford County might just be it. Rolling fields and silos in the north and tobacco kilns and sandy soil in the south signal both the area’s complex farming history and its diversity of crops on over fourteen hundred farms. Agriculture is in the county’s blood. On summer days, tractors slow down sideroad traffic and the honour system rules at many roadside vegetable stands. In August, the Optimist Club in the village of Norwich hosts their annual tractor pull and the dairy cow is celebrated during Cowapolooza in Woodstock, the seat of government for a county that in 1840 was the birthplace of Canada’s commercial cheese industry. Edible Toronto story.

A Healthy Community Food System Plan for Sarnia-Lambton

A Healthy Community Food System Plan for Sarnia-Lambton is a report prepared by the Sarnia-Lambton Food Coalition. This report presents a community food system plan developed through community consultation to guide action for the creation of a healthy food system for Sarnia-Lambton. The “food system” includes all of the activities and relationships related to every aspect of the food cycle, including growing, harvesting, transporting, processing, distributing, marketing, selling, preparing, consuming, and disposing of food.Report.

Francophone daycare provider goes ‘locavore’

Coopérative Boréal has partnered with Carrefour francophone’s day care program to provide children with “locavore” meals, or those that include local ingredients. Coopérative Boréal runs services such as the cafeteria at Collège Boréal. Local products have been part of the food it provides for some time, according to a press release. “The quality of our food, the environment and sustainable development are fundamental values for our co-operative and its members, and we are proud to share these values by providing meals for the children who attend Carrefour francophone’s child care services,” Lyne Mallette, executive director of Coopérative Boréal, said in the press release. Sudbury Northern Life story.

Tornado briefs

Organizers of the Taste of Huron and West Coast Bluesfest say events scheduled for Labour Day weekend are cancelled. West Coast Bluesfest tickets, including the Locavore Brunch N’ Blues on Sept. 4, can’t be refunded but the tickets will be honoured at future events, said Jenna Ujiye, tourism marketer for Huron County. Organizers of Taste of Huron and Bluesfest are organizing Tornado Aid 2011, Ujiye said. The event will raise money for the Goderich tornado relief fund set up by the United Way of Perth-Huron. Anyone interested in helping or making a contribution is asked to contact Ujiye by e-mail at goderichtornadoaid@gmail.com or call 519-440-2673. London Free Press story.

Hamilton’s horn of plenty

Forget steel. Think farming. At this time of year, the city’s horn of plenty is never more evident. Hamilton is not a treasure trove of tender fruit compared with Niagara (the Niagara Peninsula grows 90 per cent of Ontario’s peach crop and 75 per cent of the pears) but the Hamilton region has long been considered the broccoli and cauliflower king of Ontario — boasting just about half of the province’s broccoli crop, and up to 20 per cent of its cauliflower. The Danny Lanois food-in that kicks off at noon at Christie Lake Conservation Area is meant to draw attention to local produce and the richness of the land in our back yard. Hamilton Spectator story,

Urban farmers sow rich bounty on future condo site

For Ryan Hayhurst, the evidence of the precariousness of the modern food system is everywhere. In May, he and a broad network of local organizations, companies and individuals took over a vacant field behind the Salvation Army Citadel at the corner of Gordon Street and Arkell Road in Guelph’s south end, sowing the seeds for what has since become the Peri-Urban Farming Project, a bustling five-acre farm. The concept of urban farming “dates back centuries and millennia, back to the very beginning,” Hayhurst said. “By no means did I invent the wheel here. It’s really just about recognizing an opportunity to create capacity for people to feed themselves where they are.” Guelph Mercury story.

Metro Toronto Convention Centre Goes Local!

The Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC), Canada’s #1 convention and trade show facility is proud to announce its ever-expanding commitment to sustainability through the implementation of a local food and beverage procurement policy. Going beyond its current “Locally Sourced” menu, this new strategy will allow meetings and conventions held at the MTCC an opportunity to truly taste Ontario food and beverage products. With secured funding support of $125,000 from the Broader Public Sector Fund delivered by the Greenbelt Fund, the MTCC has partnered with Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance (OCTA) to develop an Ontario Food & Beverage Strategy and Implementation Plan. The OCTA team includes respected local food advocate and Toronto restaurateur, Chef Brad Long. Ontario Culinary Tourism post.

ALUS gaining momentum

A leading edge program that allows farmers to help the environment is gaining notice across Ontario. Alternate Land Use Services (ALUS), a program that pays farmers for providing environment services, traces its roots to Manitoba and a proposal by the provincial agriculture group Keystone Agricultural Producers. Working together with Delta Waterfowl, the grassroots program has been expanding across the country. The ALUS concept first caught on in Norfolk County six years ago. Since that time, a partnership advisory committee was struck, demonstration farms were established and work commenced on launching a countywide pilot. Tillsonburg News story.

AND IF YOU HAVE TIME

The Whiting Makeover

The Whiting Cafe makeoverwas completed on Sunday and the restaurant was scheduled to reopen this morning at 6 a.m. This makeover is the pilot project for We Kan!The organization plans to create a We Kan Bank with a website that will connect “accounts of need” with “accounts of support.” It’s all a part of the Kansas Sampler Foundation– because they are Relentless for Rural. The group brings attention to rural Kansas and works at finding ways to support small communities and local businesses to keep them viable.